OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST — An unidentified woman whose body was found in the Buckhorn Wilderness last week was the victim of homicide, detectives believe.
She is thought to have died of injuries inflicted through “homicidal violence,” said Sgt. John Hollis of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, in a press release issued Sunday.
Search and Rescue team members and detectives from myriad agencies, including the FBI because the body was found on federal land, continued Sunday their investigation begun late Friday morning after a passerby reported to authorities calling out to a woman who did not respond.
Investigators found the body off of an arterial to Forest Service Road 28 south of Blyn “way at the top of Palo Alto Road” in the Olympic National Forest, Hollis said Sunday. The deceased was not at a campground, he said.
The body had not been there long, Hollis said. He was not authorized to estimate her age, give details about her injuries or tell whether detectives thought she had been killed there or elsewhere.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office plans an autopsy this week to determine cause and manner of death; results are possible later this week, according to Hollis.
The autopsy also might help in identifying the woman. Investigators found no identification, he said. She is not believed to have been reported missing.
“We’re hoping a family member or friend will call in,” to help with identification, Hollis said.
Investigators do not believe there is any danger to the public at this time, he said.
Saturday night, Clallam County Sheriff’s detectives, assisted by the State Patrol Crime Lab Response Team, completed evidence collection and processing of the scene, Hollis said in the release.
Working with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation are detectives with the Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend police departments; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement; Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Public Safety; State Patrol and FBI.